We purchased four very nice prime grade NY steaks from Costco in anticipation of having my wife's nephew and his wife over for a casual pandemic dinner party. The nephew's wife does not like meat that is not well-done while the rest of us prefer medium-rare. The steaks were 2 inches thick and about 16 ounces each - real beauties that I did not want to ruin. Respectful to the well-done wife's preferences, I down-loaded her on exactly what she thought a well-done steak looked like. She replied that there should be no pink, which she later walked back to a little pink is okay. She agreed with me that it sounded like she wanted medium-well, which should have an IT of 145*-155*.
Given the size of these steaks, I planned all along to reverse sear them, but now I had to figure out how to cook the meat with a wide temperature range end point and still plate them all at the same time. Enter the Joule sous vide device that I gave myself for Christmas! I added some salt and a bit of coarse pepper to her steak, then into a zip lock bag, then into the water bath. The Joule app gave me an option for a 147* cook, which I selected. The cook is two hours long and walking by the the steaming pot of water made me think that this is all so wrong. After the two hours, the bagged meat went into an ice water bath for an hour and then into the fridge with the three other raw steaks.
All four steaks where put into the Weber with a SnS and a grate temperature of 230*. I put the meat probe into one of the raw steaks and used a small chunk of oak wood for some smoke flavoring. Pulled the meat at 120* IT then to another grill at Mach 10 for searing for about 2 minutes while turning frequently.
At the table, I couldn't wait to see what the medium-well steak looked like. When she cut it open there is what appeared to be a perfectly cooked medium steak with wall-to-wall doneness. I was expecting to see "slight pink, some tan, firm and juicy" per the AR Sous Vide Que Time and Temperature Guide. I thought that I would have to throw this steak back on the grill for sure, because it was just a pink as our medium-rare. However, when she tasted it, she said it was fine. She gave me a sample and the meat was tender, the texture firm and plenty juicy - AMAZING! I even liked it as much as my medium-rare piece. Turns out at this lady doesn't like the soft, mushy texture of less well-done meat and is repulsed by what she thinks is blood coming from the meat upon carving. I gave her the myoglobin speech, but she didn't buy it.
The lessons I learned are; 1. Sous vide is a meal saver when there are wide preferences for doneness. 2. Medium-well does not ruin a steak of this quality.
Sorry, no pics!
Given the size of these steaks, I planned all along to reverse sear them, but now I had to figure out how to cook the meat with a wide temperature range end point and still plate them all at the same time. Enter the Joule sous vide device that I gave myself for Christmas! I added some salt and a bit of coarse pepper to her steak, then into a zip lock bag, then into the water bath. The Joule app gave me an option for a 147* cook, which I selected. The cook is two hours long and walking by the the steaming pot of water made me think that this is all so wrong. After the two hours, the bagged meat went into an ice water bath for an hour and then into the fridge with the three other raw steaks.
All four steaks where put into the Weber with a SnS and a grate temperature of 230*. I put the meat probe into one of the raw steaks and used a small chunk of oak wood for some smoke flavoring. Pulled the meat at 120* IT then to another grill at Mach 10 for searing for about 2 minutes while turning frequently.
At the table, I couldn't wait to see what the medium-well steak looked like. When she cut it open there is what appeared to be a perfectly cooked medium steak with wall-to-wall doneness. I was expecting to see "slight pink, some tan, firm and juicy" per the AR Sous Vide Que Time and Temperature Guide. I thought that I would have to throw this steak back on the grill for sure, because it was just a pink as our medium-rare. However, when she tasted it, she said it was fine. She gave me a sample and the meat was tender, the texture firm and plenty juicy - AMAZING! I even liked it as much as my medium-rare piece. Turns out at this lady doesn't like the soft, mushy texture of less well-done meat and is repulsed by what she thinks is blood coming from the meat upon carving. I gave her the myoglobin speech, but she didn't buy it.
The lessons I learned are; 1. Sous vide is a meal saver when there are wide preferences for doneness. 2. Medium-well does not ruin a steak of this quality.
Sorry, no pics!
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